The Mets are hiring Eric Chavez to be their hitting coach, reports SNY’s Andy Martino.
The move is an about-face for Chavez, who had been announced by the Yankees as one of their new assistant hitting coaches on Dec. 21.
Chavez, 44, has a history with Mets GM Billy Eppler, having played under him while with the Yankees in 2011 and 2012 before working as a special assistant during Eppler’s tenure as GM of the Los Angeles Angels.
Chavez played for the Oakland Athletics, Yankees, and Arizona Diamondbacks during a big league playing career from 1998 to 2014.
In addition to adding Chavez to Buck Showalter‘s staff, the Mets are reportedly set to hire Wayne Kirby as their first base coach and Joey Cora as their third base coach.
Kirby, 57, was a coach for the San Diego Padres for the last two seasons. Prior to joining the Padres, he was the first base coach on Showalter’s staff with the Baltimore Orioles from 2011 to 2018.
Cora, 56, spent the last five seasons as the third base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
With Jeremy Hefner still in place as pitching coach, the Mets still need to hire a bench coach and bullpen coach.